From the Forgotten God to the Superhero: Euhemerism and “Heroification” of the Ancient Gods

Javier Espino Martín

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Chapter 10 From the Forgotten God to the Superhero

Euhemerism and “Heroification” of the Ancient Gods

于Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero

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Javier Espino Martín

Javier Espino Martín
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类型:: 章节

Page Range:: 244–277

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004744264_012

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Abstract

The relationship between mythological gods and superheroes is more complex than is believed. This study will utilize the thesis of Euhemerus of Messene and the subsequent Euhemerist movement to analyze the concept that the gods were originally exceptional individuals renowned for their feats and inventions, who, over time, became deified through the erosion of collective memory. Through a historiographic, philosophical and literary study of the three later phases of Euhemerism (the Christian, the Enlightenment, and the Romantic), I will outline the modern and contemporary configuration of the different mythological divinities. The Euhemerist readings of classical mythologies will confer a series of features on the superhero characters in popular culture, developing a sort of iconic-literary neo-paganism that will end up spreading strongly throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In short, superheroes are heirs of the ancient Greco-Latin and Nordic gods, which have been mediatized by different currents of cultural Euhemerism.

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Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero

丛编： New Research in the History of Western Philosophy, 卷： 12

ISBN:: 9789004744264

出版社:: Brill

印刷出版日期:: 21 Nov 2025

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African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

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Chapter 10 From the Forgotten God to the Superhero

Euhemerism and “Heroification” of the Ancient Gods

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Myth and Religion: The Cultural and Philosophical Significance of the Hero

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